


surpassing expectations

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: (i guess), Earth-3490, F/M, Fem Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, civil war more like civil UNION eh eh /gets bricked, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 14:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20565743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: Anonymous asked: I'd like to request stevetony + unexpected proposal





	surpassing expectations

It’s been a long and hard night involving sharing secrets she hadn’t wanted to but _knew _she must. If there was going to be a _them_, not just her and Steve but also superheroes in general, Natasha knew she had to tell Steve the whole truth about the SHRA.

And it’s been hellish, from start to finish. She’s got trust issues, she dares anyone to go through what she’s gone through and have _less _trust issues, and more than that, it’s the act of opening to Steve that’s harder. It’s not that she’s afraid of showing vulnerability but it’s the thought of him sporting that “I’m so disappointed in you” expression that leaves her hesitating. It drags the whole process out with awkward long pauses littering the path like breadcrumbs.

But there ultimately arrives a point where the secret can’t be kept anymore and the die must be cast. Let the chips fall or whatever the damn saying is. It puts her on the defensive and she _hates _that. She hates the wounded look Steve gives her when she tells him, hates how he asks, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”, and the uncurrent of “Didn’t you trust me?” bleeding into every comment. 

It feels like the worst non-fight they’ve ever had and Natasha’s barely hanging onto her control. She hates this. She _hates _the place she's put them in. More than that, she's hating the way Steve's not looking at her because he _can't look at her. _Heart shrivels in her chest at the realization that despite it all, she's let him down. She hasn't been her best despite the fact that all she's ever wanted, everything she's done, has always been in good faith. 

She’s holding herself tight to keep the trembling at bay but once Steve steps closer, sighing tiredly as he says, “It’s late. We should go to sleep.” and touches her, he realizes her state. The concern that sweeps over him is far more familiar to her but it doesn't bring warmth back into her numbed fingertips.

The back of his hand presses against her cold cheek, “Sweetheart,” Steve asks in alarm, “You..” He understands what’s wrong and pulls her in for a hug with a wounded noise. “Tasha.”

The noise she’s been choking down for _hours_ bursts out of her as she buries her face in his chest, clinging to him as she tries not to beg for him to stay, please stay, I’ll do anything but please don’t go, I can’t do this on my own. 

“Never,” Steve promises, pressing a harsh kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll help you. We’ll fight this together. Just like we always have and always will. I’ll never leave. You’ve got me. I'll always be with you. You're not alone.”

_That _penetrates the miserable fog that’s been clouding her head all day and makes Natasha blink. “That... sounded almost like a proposal?” she can’t help but ask in amazement.

She watches twin peaks of high color bloom on Steve’s cheeks before he throws his shoulders back. “What if it was?” 

“I’d ask where’s my ring.”

On the wrong foot now, Steve’s eyes dart around them. She almost feels bad for teasing him as the panic in his eyes grows. “Hold that thought,” Steve tells her before he darts away to a nearby table. 

Natasha watches him open a few drawers before he pulls a piece of paper out, tears it into a thick strip, twists it around a couple of times, and curls it into a crude ring. Her laugh is too wet and wobbly for it’s own good when Steve jogs back, dropping to his knee in front of her as he holds the ring out.

“Natasha Stark,” he asks, “will you marry me?”

She doesn't think anyone can blame her if she starts crying afresh.


End file.
